From left, former University of Ottawa Heart Institute patient David Renfroe, board chair Dalton McGuinty, Foundation president Lianne Laing, Mayor Mark Sutcliffe, former Foundation chair Elizabeth Roscoe and Ottawa Heart Institute president and CEO Dr. Rob Beanlands at the 50th anniversary for the Ottawa Heart Institute. Photo by Caroline Phillips
“Every Day I Wake Up With Gratitude”: 50 Years of the Ottawa Heart Institute
The University of Ottawa Heart Institute didn’t even exist yet when Korean War veteran Gordon Gallant first went under the knife for open-heart surgery in 1974 at age 39.
The operation — a double bypass performed by pioneering heart surgeon Dr. Wilbert Keon — came two years before Keon and Dr. Donald Beanlands founded the Ottawa Heart Institute in 1976 to address a gap in care.
The specialized cardiac care, research and teaching hospital would be there for Gallant 35 years later. At 75, he underwent triple bypass surgery performed by Dr. Fraser Rubens.
Today, Gallant is 91, turning 92 in July.
“I’m still here,” he said, sounding mildly surprised Thursday at the Heart Institute’s 50th anniversary celebration at Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Ottawa.
He attended with his son, wealth advisor Steve Gallant, who famously used to co-host an Oktoberfest-themed fundraiser for the Ottawa Heart Institute. It involved a lot of unabashed wearing of lederhosen, accordion music and gigantic beer steins. It was just one of the many — and perhaps more colourful — examples of the community coming together in support of the Heart Institute over the years.
Steve Gallant with his father, Gordon Gallant, a former patient of the Ottawa Heart Institute, at its 50th anniversary celebration. Photo by Caroline Phillips
The anniversary event honoured not only groundbreaking advances in cardiac medicine, but also the people, donors, volunteers and families who helped build one of Canada’s leading cardiac centres from the ground up.
Throughout the evening, speakers returned often to the vision of Keon and Beanlands, whose determination helped establish a cardiac institution that today serves a catchment population of more than two million people across Eastern Ontario, Western Quebec, Nunavut and even parts of Newfoundland and Labrador.
Today, the Heart Institute is led by Beanlands’ son, Dr. Rob Beanlands, a renowned innovator in cardiac imaging.
Still, many speakers, including Dr. Rob Beanlands, stressed that the institute’s success has never belonged solely to surgeons and scientists. “The Foundation and the donors have helped the Institute become what it is today and will help us thrive into the future,” he said.
Suzanne Menzies was the first executive director of the Ottawa Heart Institute Foundation when it was created in 1989. Prominent lawyer Gordon Henderson, who was founding chairman of the Heart Institute’s advisory board, played a role in bringing it together, she noted.
In the early years, Royal Canadian Legion branches organized fundraisers because so many veterans were Heart Institute patients. During “rock-a-thons,” people spent hours rocking in chairs to raise money for cardiac care — often while smoking cigarettes and eating hot dogs. Let’s just say it was a different era.
For Menzies, the Heart Institute’s success has always been rooted as much in its people as in its medical breakthroughs. “It’s the whole culture from the bottom up,” said Menzies. “That’s how it’s been from Day 1 and that’s how it is 50 years later.”
The Heart Institute’s board is now chaired by former Ontario premier Dalton McGuinty, who was among the roughly 200 attendees.
The Foundation continues to receive strong community support through both grassroots and large-scale initiatives, from the city’s largest one-day pickleball tournament to landmarks across Ottawa illuminated red each February for Heart Month.
The Canadian Women’s Heart Health Centre logo was proudly worn last season on the jersey sleeves of Ottawa’s professional women’s players. One of the owners of Ottawa Rapid FC is local land developer David Renfroe. He suffered a widowmaker heart attack two years ago that nearly took his life. Quick action got him to the Heart Institute, where Dr. Derek So and his team saved him.
“Every day, I wake up with gratitude for the Heart Institute,” said Renfroe, acknowledging that the health scare has changed him for the better. “I spend more time with my family.”
From left, Ottawa Heart Institute cardiac surgeon Dr. Vincent Chan and David Renfroe, president of Renfroe Land Management and a former patient at the specialized cardiac care, research and teaching hospital. Photo by Caroline Phillips
James Annis, board chair of the Ottawa Heart Institute Foundation and senior portfolio manager and investment advisor at BMO Nesbitt Burns, at the 50th anniversary celebration of the specialized cardiac care, research and teaching hospital. Photo by Caroline Phillips
From left, Dr. Rob Beanlands, president and CEO of the Ottawa Heart Institute, with former Foundation board chair Barbara Farber and her husband, Len Farber, at the 50th anniversary celebration held at Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Ottawa. Photo by Caroline Phillips
From left, Ottawa Heart Institute cardiac surgeon Dr. Marc Ruel and criminal defence lawyer Don Bayne, a former director with the Ottawa Heart Institute Foundation, at the 50th anniversary celebration for the specialized cardiac care, research and teaching hospital. Photo by Caroline Phillips
The evening was emceed by gifted storyteller and former CTV Ottawa broadcaster Joel Haslam, who for years has documented patient stories on behalf of the foundation. Again and again, he said, patients describe the same experience: terror turned into hope by the surgeons, cardiologists, nurses and staff, often described as “miracle workers.”
“When I set up the camera and sit face-to-face with a patient, something wondrous happens almost every single time,” Haslam said.
Patients speak about nurses holding their hands, doctors easing their fears and medical teams giving them what many describe as “the gift of time.”
“With tears in their eyes, they often show me their scars — their badges of honour,” he said. “They say things like, ‘I owe them my life,’ or, ‘I got to walk my daughter down the aisle because of them,’ or, ‘They’re the reason I’ll see my grandchildren graduate.’”
From left, emcee Joel Haslam with his former Bell Media Ottawa colleague Joanne Woo (director of news and information programming); his partner Leanne Cusack, also a former member of the Bell Media family; operations manager Jodi Hamilton; and Ottawa Heart Institute Foundation president Lianne Laing, who’s a former morning television host with the station. Photo by Caroline Phillips
Lianne Laing, president and CEO of the Ottawa Heart Institute Foundation, described the people behind the institute as both “builders and believers.”
“The builders are those who laid the foundation decades ago,” she said. “The believers are those stepping forward now — a new generation choosing to be part of what comes next.”
Today, researchers and physicians from around the world come to Ottawa to learn at the Heart Institute, whose work in cardiac imaging, artificial intelligence and cardiovascular research continues to shape the future of care.
Yet despite the global recognition, speakers returned to the human impact behind the science.
“Behind every statistic, there is a person,” said Laing. “There is a family. There is a future protected. There is the gift of time.”
That message hit home for Foundation board chair James Annis, whose father was told four years ago he had only months to live following a diagnosis of a rare heart disease. That was before he received care at the Heart Institute.
“I’m happy to say that my dad is still alive. A big pain in the ass,” Annis joked, “But we love him.”
André Picard, author and health columnist with The Globe and Mail, moderated a panel discussion featuring Dr. Rob Beanlands; Dr. Katey Rayner, chief scientific officer and vice-president of research; scientist Dr. Christopher Sun, Cardiac Research Chair in Data Analytics; and health futurist Dr. Zayna Khayat.
The conversation had more of a “fireside chat” feel, helped along by an actual fireplace installation brought in by event planner Sharon Bosley House of Avant Garde Designs.
From left, Mayor Mark Sutcliffe, Dr. Geneviève Moineau and Dr. Rob Beanlands, president and CEO of the Ottawa Heart Institute, at its 50th anniversary celebration. Photo by Caroline Phillips
From left, Ottawa Heart Institute Foundation board members: Jordan Bianconi (Inside Edge Properties), Jake Levinson (Tillbury Group), Jean Spicer (RBC Dominion Securities), Nick Pantieras (Marcus & Millichap), Gail Kaneb (Breakthrough Strategies), Colin Zappia (Sutton Group), treasurer Ian Sterling (Doherty & Associates), chair James Annis (BMO Nesbitt Burns), secretary Erin Zipes (1Password) and Lorraine Audsley (CEEFC) at the 50th anniversary celebration. Photo by Caroline Phillips
The Ottawa Heart Institute’s 50th anniversary celebration included a fireside chat moderated by André Picard, left, with Dr. Rob Beanlands, Dr. Katey Rayner, Dr. Christopher Sun and Dr. Zayna Khayat. Photo by Caroline Phillips
From left, Kristen Buter, general manager of Cavanagh Realty and co-founder of City BuildHERS; TRUEdotDESIGN president Shelley True; Fairmont Château Laurier events and activations manager Catherine McLaughlin and her husband, Terry McLaughlin, president of Terlin Construction, at the Ottawa Heart Institute’s 50th anniversary celebration. Photo by Caroline Phillips
The Ottawa Heart Institute’s Dr. Katey Rayner and Dr. Christopher Sun were part of a panel discussion held during the 50th anniversary celebration of the specialized cardiac care, research and teaching hospital. Photo by Caroline Phillips
Lianne Laing, president of the Ottawa Heart Institute Foundation, in conversation with lawyer Stephen Victor, partner at Victor Vallance Blais LLP, during the Ottawa Heart Institute’s 50th anniversary celebration. Photo by Caroline Phillips
From left, former Ottawa Heart Institute Foundation director Krista Kealey (Ottawa International Airport Authority), former Foundation board chair Elizabeth Roscoe (Rubicon Strategy) and her husband, former Heart Institute patient Dave Crapper, at the 50th anniversary celebration. Photo by Caroline Phillips
From left, Jessica Roback and Olivia Grebe, both with the Ottawa Heart Institute Foundation, joked that they looked like bridesmaids in their unintentionally matching dresses for the specialized cardiac care, research and teaching hospital’s 50th anniversary celebration. Photo by Caroline Phillips
Lianne Laing, president of the Ottawa Heart Institute Foundation, welcomed guests to a 50th anniversary celebration held at Hard Rock Hotel & Casino on Thursday, May 21, 2026. Photo by Caroline Phillips
From left, Alex Reklitis, with his wife, Marina Reklitis, and father, Jim Reklitis, former chair of the Fuller Keon Golf Tournament, are multi-generational volunteer fundraisers for the Ottawa Heart Institute. Photo by Caroline Phillips
Sharon Bosley House, owner of Avant Garde Designs, was behind the creative food serving stations at the 50th anniversary celebration for the Ottawa Heart Institute, held at Hard Rock Hotel & Casino. Photo by Caroline Phillips
From left, former Ottawa Heart Institute Foundation director Sam Firestone (Marcus & Millichap) with his wife Susan Firestone, sister-in-law Lindsay Firestone, who’s vice president at the Ottawa Heart Institute Foundation, and his nephew, Jake Levinson, who’s on the board of the Foundation and is lead volunteer organizer of its massive pickleball tournament. Photo by Caroline Phillips
Journalist and author André Picard on stage with Dr. Rob Beanlands, president and CEO of the University of Ottawa Heart Institute, during the panel discussion portion of the 50th anniversary event. Photo by Caroline Phillips
From left, Johnny Giannetti from Preston Hardware, Nicholas Giorgio, vice president at Byron Rental Properties, and Paramount Properties principal Stuart Ages at the 50th anniversary celebration for the Ottawa Heart Institute. Photo by Caroline Phillips
From left, Susan Menzies, who was the first executive director of the Ottawa Heart Institute Foundation, and Chloe Girvan, senior manager of communications with the Foundation, at the Ottawa Heart Institute’s 50th anniversary celebration, held at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino. Photo by Caroline Phillips
From left, Ottawa Heart Institute president and CEO Dr. Rob Beanlands, Foundation president Lianne Laing, and Vicki Mierins and Arnie Mierins from Mercedes-Benz Ottawa Downtown, at the 50th anniversary for the specialized cardiac care, research and teaching hospital’s 50th anniversary celebration. Photo by Caroline Phillips
From left, Canadian entrepreneur and philanthropist Richard L’Abbé and Francine L’Abbé were seen in conversation with Ottawa Heart Institute cardiac surgeon Dr. Marc Ruel during the 50th anniversary celebration for the specialized cardiac care, research and teaching hospital. Photo by Caroline Phillips
Ottawa singer and pianist Kimberley Dunn performed during the 50th anniversary celebration for the Ottawa Heart Institute, held at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino. Photo by Caroline Phillips
From left, Sam Firestone (Marcus & Millichap), former Ottawa Heart Institute Foundation board chair Alan Rottenberg and Gillie Vered (Arnon Corporation) at the 50th anniversary celebration for the specialized cardiac care, research and teaching hospital. Photo by Caroline Phillips
The Ottawa Heart Institute Foundation team shares a happy moment together during the 50th anniversary celebration held at Hard Rock Hotel & Casino on Thursday, May 21, 2026. Photo by Caroline Phillips
This article is made possible through sponsorship from Star Motors, WEALTH (WCPD), Syntax Strategic, RBC, Marilyn Wilson Dream Properties, ExecHealth, Altis Recruitment, Bell Canada, First Avenue Investment Counsel, Welch LLP, Brazeau Seller Law and Prime Benefits Group.
hello@carolineinthecapital.ca
SHARE THIS STORY
Stay in the know
Get stories + event highlights from the capital delivered to your inbox.
